We had the good fortune of connecting with Montana Doran and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Montana, why did you pursue a creative career?
For so long I believed I didn’t matter. I believed my story didn’t matter. I believed I was too far gone, and that there were things I did that disqualified me from doing anything significant in life. After my own healing journey, and realizing those things are all lies, I am a big believer that every person’s story matters and has the ability to change someone else’s life. Now my life mission is to empower others to use their voice to impact those around them.

The Tana Talks Podcast is a podcast, community, and safe space for ALL. A space where Comedy & Healing Unite. A creative community built on being real. A space where all cultures, ideas, views, and life are welcome. Hosted by Stand Up Comedian, Montana Doran. She believes you matter, your story matters, & you should talk about it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve always loved to talk, so much so that it used to get me in trouble in school, in church, at work, etc. I just couldn’t seem to ever stop talking, really. My mom has always said that I would talk to a brick wall if I thought it would talk back. In 2018, I was finishing up my degree when I discovered podcasts for the first time. It was life changing. I became consumed with podcasts and hearing other people tell their stories.

I never really knew what I wanted to do after college, but several of my communications professors suggested something related to public speaking, as I had a natural gift for speaking and telling stories. I graduated in 2019 and started a corporate job. I was still consumed by podcasts, and commuting for over an hour for work gave me plenty of time to consume content. I loved it, but never thought I could do it myself.

Oct 2019, I was involved in a horrible car accident that lead to 3 month recovery journey. The road to recovery was very dark. During that time, I spent a significant amount of time learning about myself, writing, podcasting, and learning about content production.

I launched Tana Talks Podcast in January 2020. After working through my own healing journey. Through starting Tana Talks, I have also been able to branch out into other forms of communication including starting a career in stand up comedy and other forms of public speaking.

I actually got my start in stand-up comedy when I was recovering from my accident! A church single’s event hosting nearly 100 guests in Atlanta needed a live comedy act and someone mentioned that I’d be the perfect person for the job. Little did the event coordinators know that stand-up comedy had been a dream job of mine for most of my adult life and I never actively pursued it as a career because I didn’t think It was a “real job” or something people just started doing. The opportunity to perform that night was literally a once in a life time opportunity. I had never told a joke in my life, but the entire crowd was rolling throughout the entire 20-minute act. And now the rest is history in the making.

This journey has been full so many ups and downs. I literally got stared with all of this during the darkest time in my personal life. However, I feel like that is how you grow. It’s not about what obstacles come your way, because they’re going to come. It’s how you handle the obstacles. It’s continuing to show up for yourself and believe in yourself even when nothing makes sense, or it feels like your whole world is falling apart.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I will always always always recommend a comedy show to anyone traveling through Atlanta! Atlanta is home to so many hilarious comedians new and old. You can always catch a show at Laughing Skull, Punchline, or Atlanta Comedy Theater. We also have so many local breweries & those breweries have weekly shows as well, like Bold Monk Brewery or Best End Brewery!

We also host a Monthly show at Wonderkid. Such amazing vibes and great food!

You also cant go wrong with anything at Ponce City Market, and then you can catch a show at Roll Call Theater!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to shoutout Handup-Standup! The production team that Ive recently started working with. Im very new to comedy so the fact that they took me under their wing means a lot. I love being apart of Handup-Standup because not only do we produce quality shows all around the City we also partner with local Non-profits that give back to the community.

Its really special and alwasy a fun time! If you’re in the city 10/10 recommend coming through to one of our monthly shows!

Website: montanadoran.com

Instagram: Instagram.com/tanatalkspodcast instagram.com/montanadoran

Facebook: facebook.com/montana.doran

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXztWsiW5QdXpXtObgFDscQ

Other: tiktok:https://www.tiktok.com/@montanadoran?lang=en

Image Credits
@lolascottart @plooshphotos @charliebcreative @tanatalkspodcast

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.